My Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and My First Fertility Treatment

As I had mentioned on my About Me page, my husband and I were already trying to have a baby since 2005 – with no luck. I had a total of 2 miscarriages – the first one happened in 2006 and the second one in 2010 (I had no idea that I was pregnant since I always have irregular periods).

Our first fertility treatment started on 2007 after consulting an ob-gyne (let’s just call her Dr. D for now) for my continuous vaginal bleeding. She did a transvaginal sonogram and she found out that I had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). The worse thing about it was that both ovaries were affected. I was devastated, especially when she told us that there’s a large possibility that my condition might be the reason why we’re still childless. She also conducted a sperm analysis on my husband and everything’s normal (lucky him!).

Dr. D immediately prescribed me with Duphaston to stop my bleeding. Had to take it for five (or ten?) days and on the third day of my period, she prescribed me with Clomiphene (Clomid) – a fertility drug. I was also instructed to take a pregnancy test the following month.

My first month of fertility treatment failed. They were wondering why I couldn’t produce eggs despite the fact that I’m taking Clomid. Dr. D increased its dosage and told me to take Metformin once a day everyday (for my PCOS) during my second month of treatment. Everything failed again. Same thing with third and fourth month.

She started to introduce a procedure called Tubal Cannulation, wherein she would be able to flush my fallopian tubes to check if there’s a blockage or something. That procedure was worth P7,000 at that time and since we were not yet ready to gamble our “itsy-bitsy” savings, we decided to take a rest and try again without the help of any fertility treatments.

3 years had passed and my womb’s still empty. Out of desperation, I tried to self medicate with the drugs Dr. D prescribed me during our treatments without my husband’s knowledge. After two months, I had my “Year 2010 Miscarriage”. I had no idea that I was pregnant since my periods are always irregular.

We went back to Dr. D with the palm-sized lump of blood that came out during (what I thought was) my 6-hour dysmenorrhea attack. She then confirmed that it was indeed a miscarriage, and the probable cause might be my hormonal imbalance (hormonal imbalance and PCOS are sisters). She instructed me to continue taking Metformin everyday.

Was I able to cure my PCOS with Metformin? Did I finally get pregnant after this? Find out on my next post.

Friendly Reminder:
Do not try to self medicate with the drugs mentioned in my post. Treatment for PCOS depends on the severity of the condition. It is always important to consult your doctor first before taking anything.